Originally Posted by
alexeyAP
Hello lads, I'm a year or two away from leaving secondary school here in the UK and to be honest I've become infatuated with aviation over the past few years. I would love nothing more than to spend my working hours in a cockpit as opposed to the traditional 9-5 and all the pilots I've spoken to agree wholeheartedly that it is one of the best jobs that one could possibly work. The way I see it integrated is prohibitively expensive while modular is more "grindy" and allows your experience to build up (which should be better for jobseeking right?!). A few questions:
- Would you recommend going to uni, getting a secure and well-paying job and saving for a few years then starting training or going to uni and taking out a loan straight off the bat? I appreciate that financial stability may be something that employers are looking for in a candidate, and it would also allow me to get some real experience of industry before starting pilot training. I was considering going to uni for software engineering/computing science, civil engineering, electrical engineering or even aerospace engineering and getting a job in those fields. (I would also hate the idea of an outstanding loan hovering above my head while I complete my studies).
- Having got your ATPL, is finding a job difficult? I have heard (or read rather) horror stories of people floating about for years after securing their license looking for a job only to fly bizjets in the end.
- Would UK airlines such as easyjet ever even consider hiring modular graduates or do they hire exclusively from their cadet programs? (Again the cost + high risk + low experience/occupational mobility) makes this route very very unattractive for me.
Thanks in advance.
Unfortunately the decision is often out of your hands. You talk about ‘getting a loan’. Bluntly, do your parents have a spare £100K in the bank, or are willing to remortgage the home to get access to the £100K?
If not, you’re going modular and your training will progress at the speed of cash if you wish to do it straight out of uni, or you’ll be saving for a long time to attempt the integrated route. If it were me in that case, Modular alongside work 100% of the time.
Integrated schools are
very good at advertising, having been on this site I guarantee your instagram and Facebook feeds will be littered with adverts from CAE, L3 etc with models in their gleaming white Pilot shirts with gold braid up to their eyeballs. It’s all spin. Finish the training and all that matters is that piece of paper.
Keep at it, it’s the best job in the world. Do uni though, best three years of your life, the life experiences will be incredibly useful, not just for the training, but your life generally.